Tuesday, May 1, 2012

May

It's been an up and down time for me, emotionally and physically the past month. I have made some important decisions about my life, some which I will talk about here and some which I will not share.

I find that I have been weepy lately. Maybe it's because I haven't felt too good, the allergies are hitting and I ended up with a raging UTI last week and am now on 14 days of antibiotics. I drag around alot, even though I have been working out and trying to get lots of protein and energy foods.

Todd came over and looked at the bathroom and heard the work I need to have done and he recommended a guy he knows who does small jobs and does good work. That guy came over and gave me a good estimate. Now I just have to finish removing the damned wallpaper...I have worked on that for four days and still have a lot more to go, then the painting of the ceiling, walls, vanity and then I can have the workers come and do the shower and the floor. Oh, and I have to rip up the stupid pink carpet and the tile in the bathroom before they do the work.

I took a two week break from the wallpaper job as I wasn't feeling well. This week I'm taking it easy as well...I have chemo on Thursday. Next week I'll go at the wallpaper again, this time armed with the steamer I bought at Home Depot.

I did get to go out to lunch with Sue...we went to Rein's. I brought home corned beef, chopped liver and seeded rye and have enjoyed a few sandwiches since our trip. Oh...and I also got to go see Grace and go to Pauline's birthday party...so I have been out a bit.

Robin is teaching six weeks of classes in energy and I signed up for them. I missed the first one because I'm a dope and then missed last week because I was sick. I have attended two of the classes and have enjoyed them...and learned from them. We are learning about chakras and doing some relaxation exercises. I do them at night to help me get to sleep.

At our agility trial I felt sick on Saturday and kind of stayed close to the RV. I got my work done for the volunteer snacks, but didn't do much extra stuff. Sunday it rained and I felt a bit better. Sandy paid for me to have a Reflexology session with Christine Seifert. I didn't know much about this process, I just knew I needed to make sure my feet were clean! Well, she hit a spot on the soles of both feet that sent pulsing waves through my whole body! When I was en route to her tent for the session, my abdomen was hurting, I was hunched over and my breathing was shallow. I really questioned whether I should keep the appointment. When I left, my abdomen didn't hurt (and didn't start hurting later, either) and I could walk upright.

I am going to have to have another session sometime down the road. I think it really helped my pain and my diarrhea has really slowed down for the first time in a long time.

Went to see Dr. Valin for follow-up on my hernia surgery. He is very pleased...no sign of the hernia and he says the mesh is wonderful. He also said I don't have to come back again for follow-up for that surgery...just for the by-pass tests.

I decided to take antacids regularly since I think I have reflux and that contributes to the diarrhea. It can't hurt...and I think it helps keep up whatever the Reflexology started.

Dr. Valin is concerned about my rapid weight loss (32 lbs since Jan) and told me to "liberalize" my diet...which means to eat stuff that have heretofore been forbidden. But food doesn't taste good to me, due to the chemo and that's what makes it hard for me to maintain my weight. I don't mind losing a few more pounds but I am getting to the weight where Dr. LaChance wanted me to be and it's dicey going below that.

So, I went online and looked up taste issues due to chemo and found two cookbooks that help with this and with maintaining a good energy level. I ordered the books on Amazon and look forward to getting them soon. They have recipes that address diarrhea issues too.

Sandy thinks that even though the literature doesn't say it, I need to really flush my system after chemo. Supposedly Avastin is not one of those drugs that need to be flushed, but every time I get it, I have symptoms of a UTI....itching and burning when I pee. This last time it turned into a full-fledged UTI. I can't go through that every two weeks...I'd never get off antibiotics!

The dogs are barking now because they think Sandy is home. This reminds me of our "nightmare day" yesterday. The guys came to clean the furnace and service the AC units....they ended up being here for about three and a half hours. And for three and a half hours, the dogs barked at them. It was a friggin' zoo here. I told Sandy that when the crew is here working on the bathroom, we are moving to a local RV park. I'm not going to put up with that nonsense. I ended up in tears yesterday after the guys finally left and the dogs started barking again because they thought Sandy was home. It wore me out.

I'm hoping May flies by fast. It always makes me miserable. I'm already having the headaches, stuffed nose and the aching chest. I have to take the inhaler four times a day already...and it barely makes a dent. I can't wait to go back to Dr. Ber, my allergist. I'm hoping he can do more to help with the breathing problems.

It seems to me that I'm doing nothing but whining in this blog. So be it. Let me whine here.

I am looking forward to some visits with friends coming up...some plans to go kayaking and a trip to Maine on Memorial Day Weekend, to watch Sandy and Rocket run in the Canicross. Oh...and the JRT trials in Hebron the third weekend of the month...and working the Truck event in Voluntown for the Ovarian Cancer Coalition. And other fun stuff.

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About Me

I am retired, work part time as a "fake patient" for medical students; a sometime sports writer for spmsportspage.com; dog agility enthusiast; ovarian cancer fighter; UConn Husky, CT Sun, Red Sox and New England Patriots fan. I write about whatever the hell comes along the pike.